A/N: Yo! So this has been floating around in my head for the better part of a year and I think I've finally got things under control enough to write it, along with Yaoi Emblem on the side. Go check it out if you haven't. NOW.
But yeah. This is a complete AU with loadsa stuff that will probably make no sense. At any rate, take a look and hopefully you'll like what you see.
It wasn't, Greil argued, that he wanted to relocate their entire family to a new home in Melior.
Mist would hear none of it, of course. She was thirteen, determined to keep things as they were and prone to mood swings the same way Boyd was prone to a broken nose during a football game. Her father's decision to move had been solely to make her miserable, of course, and to tear her away from the home she had grown up in was exactly what he had meant to do, and just how were they supposed to visit mother's grave now that it wasn't their property anymore?
Ike was taking it far better, but he blamed it on genes more than anything. He had inherited his mother's hair and eyes and temperament, whereas Mist was just as stubborn as their father was. It made living in the same house as both of them a pain, but he loved them both dearly and it was hard to be angry even through the arguments that woke him up before noon.
Still, the arguments about the move had become overwhelming at times, and more and more frequently he found himself making attempts to comfort a grouchy sister who was determined to find a way back home.
This is our home now, he had tried to reason, but she would have none of that, instead throwing him from her room as soon as he dared to tell her that they would be living here from now on. There would be no looking at upsides, either. She lived near her friends now and she no longer had to hitch a ride with her older brother to school, but she retorted with the fact that their trampoline was now being stored in the basement of the building (and Ike agreed that this was A Tragedy) and that the band she and her friends had formed no longer had anywhere to practice now that there were neighbours and no garage (a tragedy of far lesser proportions).
Ike had no problem with the move, really. He had a car and now lived a six-minute-forty-five-second drive from Boyd's house (not that they had counted, or anything like that), as opposed to a thirty-minute drive to the city on a road that more often than not was obstructed with cows. Sure, the space was smaller and moving his (admittedly large) bed up four flights of stairs (damn the small elevator) had been nothing short of nightmarish and he had to find new and creative ways to hang his posters and the sword he had won at an auction (because Ragnell needed to be on display at all times), but those were just minor technicalities.
And school. He would be in a real high school now, not the tiny school for the students in the country with what would now be a graduating class of thirty-one. With real friends, not people who had cheated off of him in math and tried to get him to gamble away his lunches over games of poker.
Ike didn't share his food unless there was a damn good reason to.
Plus, he would meet Boyd's group of friends, those who surrounded him on his Facebook photos, posing in the pictures of Boyd getting various casts removed or applied, those who sent inappropriate text messages to him despite the fact that they didn't really know who he was.
He didn't care what his sister thought. The move had presented itself as an opportunity to start over (something that he needed to do after breaking things off with his old girlfriend), and that was precisely what he intended to do.
-}(*){-
"We need to pick a few people up."
Ike sighed. "How many people?"
Boyd just smiled, heaving his bag into the trunk of Ike's car. He never had needed to ask for permission to treat Ike's belongings as his own and as a result Ike had needed to get multiple parts of his car replaced (he could never look at the back right seat quite the same way since the nacho incident). It landed with an crash that was just a bit too loud for any regular backpack to have made, and Ike made a face.
"What exactly is in that?"
"Textbooks notebooks pencil case calculator laptop external hard drive wallet two muffins various papers two binders and possibly even porn," he managed to say all in one breath. "I kinda just swept everything off my desk and into my bag this morning. If you find fragments of a dirty magazine in the hallways later today, you'll know who it belonged to."
Ike buried his face in his hands. "Ashera on a unicycle, Boyd, I didn't need to hear that."
"How unfortunate." Boyd slid into the passenger seat and closed his door with just a little too much enthusiasm, and Ike winced. "So we've got to pick up Gatrie and Shinon first, since they're closest, and then Rhys because city transit usually makes him sick. It's just three; they'll all fit in the car." Boyd paused. "How long have you had your license?"
"A year and a half." Ike frowned. "Why?"
"Because if we happen to come across Mia we should give her a lift too, because we are chivalrous young men."
Ike shook his head so frantically that he nearly ran a red light. "I am not going to have more passengers than seatbelts," he began, but Boyd would have none of that, proclaiming that it would only be for a few blocks anyways, and that Mia was small enough to fit in the trunk of the car. There was more protesting after that comment and finally Boyd declared that he would drive with extra passengers instead and see how Ike liked it.
After some not-quite-valid threats and an atomic wedgie (how Ike had managed that without pulling over or getting into an accident was a mystery to both of them), Boyd agreed that driving with more passengers than seatbelts was a bad idea.
-}(*){-
The first stop was outside a house that was, admittedly, a bit too large. There were no cars parked on the driveway or street, and the front yard was immaculate. It was painted a deep blue with golden trim that somehow suited it, and not a thing looked out of place.
"Rule number one," Boyd whispered, still squirming and trying to un-wedge his boxers. "We do not do anything rowdy or rambunctious on or near this property."
"Really?" Ike's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I would have guessed that this was the ideal place to have a pudding-balloon fight."
"I'm serious," Boyd replied. "Gatrie's mother would be kind enough about it, but his father would have a fit. He's very particular about the house. Saved up for years to afford it and is just now paying off the mortgage. Anything happens to his perfect house, his perfect garden, his perfect anything, we will all die in a horrible way." He glanced over at the house. "Goddessdammit, where are they?"
The words had barely left his mouth when the front door was thrown open and a blond man hurried out, backpack in one hand and an apple in the other. His collar was crooked and the bottom button on his shirt was undone and it looked as though he had put his pants on in a hurry. His hair was mussed and he had a faint bruise on his neck and he tripped going down the stairs, catching himself just before he sprawled face-first on the lawn.
"Nicely done," Boyd laughed, opening the door and helping the blond up. "Where's Shinon?"
"Can't leave the house without his precious camera," the other man replied. "He'll be out in a moment." He smiled and crashed into the back of the car. He inhaled deeply. "Do I detect a hint of junk food?"
Ike grinned. "There's a bag of Doritos stashed underneath your seat. I need to hide them or my sister'll be all over them in three seconds flat." He held his hand out. "I'm Ike."
The blond took it and squeezed. "Gatrie. Pleased to meetcha," He paused. "Your hidden stash of Doritos…is it available to the general public?"
"Only if they've eaten a proper breakfast first," Boyd retorted, resuming his place next to Ike. "Besides, it's eight in the morning. Chips this early can't possibly be good for you."
"They aren't good for you anyways," Gatrie replied, taking a massive bite out of his apple. "So why not?"
"Because I will kick you in the face if you do," someone new replied. Gatrie seemed to shrink in his seat.
The newcomer was a redhead, his long hair tied high on his head. He was dressed simply, clothing spattered with paint in places. He carried two bags that looked equally heavy, and dropped one into the trunk with a thud nearly as loud as the one Boyd's had made. The other he carried into his seat with him, arranging it carefully on his lap before punching Gatrie. His green eyes were piercing, and he studied Ike carefully.
"You'd make a good subject," he murmured. Begnion accent, Ike noted. "I think I'll use you."
"Use me as your what?" Ike asked, somewhere between curiosity and dread.
"I'm doing a photography series on ancient wars. You'd be a good model for a war hero on Tellius hundreds of years ago. He began as the leader of a mercenary company but ended up leading an army of both humans and sub-humans to victory against a king that had taken over his country. Three years later he led an army against the Goddess herself after only he and his group were spared during Judgement Day. He brought her to her knees and she released everyone from the confines she had put them in, and then ran away with his closest friend to lands unknown."
"By the way, this is Shinon," Boyd grumbled. The redhead leaned forward and punched him. "Aagh! He's got a violent streak but he's a mythology nerd and a photographer and a killer artist."
"I can be a killer in general, too," Shinon replied. He grinned ferally. "Would you care to test that theory? I could start a new series. 'Blood and Pavement.' A hand in the foreground, limp and spattered with blood, streaks of blood on the ground leading toward it, set in a nice, peaceful environment. Somewhere most people would see on a daily basis. Too intimate to be anything but eerie. It'd be a good macabre work."
Boyd shut up for all of five seconds. Then he made a face. "But I have to direct Ike to Rhys' house."
"We can do that just fine by ourselves. Be quiet, Blood and Pavement."
And with that, Boyd shut up permanently.
Never in his life had Ike met two people whose personalities clashed so much. Despite his almost imposing figure, Gatrie was friendly and warm and just a touch scatterbrained. Shinon was a shadow, a threat that seemed invalid but was likely very real once one pushed the right buttons.
Yet Shinon had taken the seat directly beside Gatrie instead of next to the window, like most people would have. Ike would have guessed that the redhead would want to be as far away from anyone else as possible. But he had given his bag the majority of the seat (which it needed) and was firmly pressed against Gatrie's side, leaning on the other teenager's shoulder. Not much, but enough for Ike to notice. The blond caught Ike looking at them in the mirror and smiled.
"It's because Rhys gets motion sickness and Shinon is hungover," he explained. "Turn right." Ike obeyed and Gatrie continued. "It's better if he's just sitting here from the start, and that way Rhys can leap from the car if needed." He shrugged. "Besides, we live together in the same filth."
"Correction; your half of the room is filth. Ike, turn left and then take your second right." Shinon replied, shutting his eyes. "My half is pristine. It makes up for your slovenliness."
"Either way we sleep in the same room—"
"And you snore."
"—so sharing a seat is not a big deal!" Gatrie finally managed to finish. "You're worse than mom is when she's trying to make a point!"
"A trait of your mum's that I respect. Third white house on the left."
Ike obeyed, briefly wondering how the redhead was giving directions with his eyes shut. The house looked just a clean as Gatrie's had, but somehow more lived-in. Two chairs sat out on the front porch, a mostly-empty bottle of Mountain Dew nestled in between them. An ancient-looking tree rested comfortably next to the house, a fort hidden away in its branches.
At this house, Boyd actually got out of the car. He was up the front walk in an instant, pounding away at the door. Ike sighed softly, but a smile was on his face. Boyd had always been this way.
The door opened a moment later and someone with auburn hair appeared. He was wearing a white hoodie that was just a size too large and was hugging someone goodbye in the doorway, slipping on comfortable-looking shoes as he went. His pockets looked full and Ike wondered exactly what he had in them. He had a coffee mug in each hand and held no bag; Boyd had already taken it and had hoisted it over his shoulder. This bag looked frighteningly heavy, and Ike briefly wondered if his car could handle another heavy load.
The newcomer looked at Shinon and made a face. "You're hungover again, aren't you?"
Ike chuckled at that; it seemed that everyone in this group knew each other far too well. Shinon muttered something incomprehensible and held out his hand expectantly. One of the mugs was placed in it and Shinon took a long drink. He smiled just slightly and moved his bag so the other man could sit down.
"Thank you," he said, sounding the most pleased he had all morning.
"Well, it's the best I can do for you." White hoodie looked at Ike and smiled. "Hello, I'm Rhys; I don't believe we've ever met before."
Ike smiled. "No. I've seen you patching up Boyd in pictures, though. Yours is a face I recognize."
Rhys chuckled softly. "I do my best for everyone. I'm going to be a medical student; I might as well get all the practice I can. So I fix that—" he pointed to the back of Boyd's head, "—when it's broken, and I give nutritional advice to that—" he motioned toward Gatrie, "—and I give my hangover remedy to Shinon every Monday morning because he is in a state of perpetual doom and destruction without it."
"Up yours," Shinon muttered, taking another sip.
"Much love in your general direction as well."
Ike began laughing softly, and everyone paused to look at him.
"What?" Boyd finally asked, grinning.
Ike took in a deep breath. "You're all…very good friends. You've known each other forever; it's really clear to me. Everyone at my old school was either a redneck or a ditz, and nobody knew each other like you do. It's just…different."
"It's not that weird," Boyd replied. "Everyone at school has their own little group and that's that. We all know who belongs where and what everyone's personalities are like. And what to give Shinon when he's hungover."
Shinon made to punch Boyd again but Rhys intervened, catching Shinon's fist and taking it in both his hands.
"Settle down or I'm not making that for a month," he threatened. Green eyes bored into brown ones, and finally Shinon lowered his hand.
"You owe your bruise-free day to Rhys," he growled to Boyd. "You lucky bastard."
Boyd smiled. "Thank you Rhys." He turned to Ike. "Take us to school, O Driver Man!"
Ike saluted mockingly. "Yes, Captain."
-}(*){-
Three blocks away from school Boyd abruptly shouted for Ike to stop. He slammed on the brakes (mentally thanking Ashera that they were on a side street with no traffic), assuming that there had been a squirrel or that Rhys was living up to the so-called reputation of being carsick. Shinon cursed loudly as he and Gatrie very nearly crushed his bag. Rhys yelped and promptly began thanking the Goddess for the invention of seatbelts.
Boyd leaped from the car. For a moment everyone stared, completely dumbfounded. Then the door nearest Rhys was being thrown open and a human-shaped lump of purple and orange was being tossed in. Shinon cursed again. Boyd tumbled into the passenger seat and shouted for Ike to drive. Without thinking, he did, taking off with (what was admittedly a rather dramatic) screeching of tires. Other sidewalk-goers stared as the car took off.
Boyd began cackling. Gatrie joined him, pulling the orange lump into his lap. Rhys sighed heavily and Shinon muttered something that was probably obnoxious. The lump giggled—a sound that was distinctively feminine. Ike's eyes narrowed and he punched Boyd.
"You made me stop. Not because of something important like potential roadkill or someone being sick, but to pick up a fifth passenger even though I distinctly remember telling you that I will not drive with more passengers than seatbelts?"
"…yes." Boyd paused, fully prepared for another blow. When none came, he continued. "Well, we're only three streets—two, now—from school. Nobody'll notice so long as Mia stays put."
"Aye, captain!" The girl in the back saluted from her perch on Gatrie's lap (when had that happened?). She paused, discomfort written across her features, and then her eyes widened slightly. "Permission to punch someone with a boner, Captain?"
"Permission granted," Boyd replied.
Gatrie began protesting loudly ("it's my cell phone! I promise it's my cell phone!") as the girl removed her orange sweater. She was calm, but there was a gleam in her eye that promised death. Her headphones were removed from around her neck and handed to Shinon, who took them calmly. Ike sighed heavily.
"No beatings in my car," he finally declared, and when the declaration went seemingly ignored, he shouted it. The girl frowned just slightly and Gatrie gave him a look that clearly said you are my hero.
"But he's being gross," she pouted. "Something is stabbing me in the rear and if it's not his co—"
Rhys interrupted by leaning over Shinon and firmly planting his hand over her mouth. "Let's not discuss this here," he said, looking somewhat disgruntled. "Or ever."
"Seconded," Ike replied. He frowned. "Why is one half of the parking lot nearly empty?"
Nobody spoke. Shinon finally broke the silence as Ike pulled into a parking space.
"It's the side for the sub-humans."
"Sub-humans?"
Boyd nodded as he opened the passenger door. "They're not normal. Not like us. You'll understand soon."
"This all seems quite a bit—"
"Dangerous," Gatrie finished. "They hate us. They try to pick us off after classes. Don't walk anywhere alone." He placed a hand on Mia's shoulder. "Especially not if you're a girl."
Mia turned and smacked him. "Don't act like I'm sort of pushover. Lyre cornered me that day and I managed just fine."
"You've still got scars," Rhys pointed out, holding the girl's hoodie open. Mia slipped into it and heaved her bag onto one shoulder.
"I'm alive, aren't I?" She wound her arm through Rhys' and smiled. "I didn't go to the hospital either. Just a few scratches and bruises, that's all."
"And you should be thankful," Gatrie retorted. "Some of us have to put up with that kind of torment during extracurricular activities. There's maybe three sub-humans in this school who at least try to get along with everyone, and because of that they're rejected by both sides."
"Both sides?" Ike asked, locking the car. "I don't—"
"Move."
He was pushed, hard. His bag fell from his hands and he slammed into the back end of his car. Laughter followed him and he growled.
"Now wait just one second—" he began. Claws abruptly met his throat. He froze.
The girl was small. Smaller than him with violet eyes and copper hair similar to Rhys'. Orange stripes curved over her cheeks, two on each side. Her ears were inhuman. Catlike, flattened against the top of her head. She hissed and the grip on his neck tightened. Behind her, another girl who could have been her twin sister was giggling, latched onto the arm of a taller man with silvery-purple hair and stripes of the same colour on each cheek. They too had the same catlike ears.
"You're in my way." She stalked off toward the school, tail lashing. "Lyre. Kyza." The others followed, still chuckling. Their tails matched their hair, Ike noted somewhat dazedly.
"What exactly—"
"Sub-human." Gatrie practically spat the word. "Think they're the superior race or something like that."
"Ridiculous, really," Shinon continued. "They're vicious. Terribly violent. They'll do anything to sink their claws into a human. That's not an indication of superiority; it's an indication of being stuck-up and cruel. "
"Well, you don't help it by provoking them, you know," Rhys countered. "If you just left them alone—"
Shinon took hold of the front of Rhys' sweater and pulled him in until they were an inch apart. "You damn well know I can't do that. Don't try to ask the impossible."
Mia interrupted, shoving Shinon away from Rhys and standing in front of the auburn-haired man protectively. "It's not impossible; you just can't let things go. Get over it already, Shinon. The rest of us have."
His anger immediately turned to Mia and he leaned in until he was too close, the wayward strands of his hair touching her forehead, his breath fanning her lips. "You have no idea what hell I have gone through," he hissed. "I spent my whole life putting up with them. I was decent. I was nice." His lips were just barely brushing against hers now. "And then after one comment that could have been taken any which way," he kissed her, "they lashed out." Abruptly he kicked her feet from underneath her. Ike caught her and shouted after Shinon but the redhead was already walking away. Gatrie cursed.
"Goddamned kid," he muttered. "I'm gonna go beat some sense into him. I'll see you at lunch." Then he smiled. "Nice meeting you, Ike."
"Y…you too?" Ike felt his left eye twitch just slightly. As soon as Mia was safely latched onto Rhys' arm again he turned to Boyd. "What the shit was that?"
"What was what?" Boyd asked, feigning ignorance.
"That! That whole…freaking out thing!"
Mia sighed and picked up Ike's bag. He took it absently and didn't look away from Boyd until she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You've got first period with me. I'll explain on the way." She smiled gently. "Don't mind him. He's really a nice guy. It's just…he's got some emotional baggage to deal with." A quick hug was given to Rhys and a punch to Boyd, and then Mia's elbow was around his and she was leading him inside the school. "Look, it's like this.
"Shinon's always been real nice. He's one of the top students in the Fine Arts corner of the school. Good at painting and sculpting and photography and all that good stuff. He was in art one day and got a painting idea. Asked one of the sub-humans to model for him. Wanted to call it 'Angel of Death'. She's a raven…anyways, she took it badly. Whether it was being compared to death itself or simply being called a sub-human. I don't know." Mia sighed and held the door open for Ike. "Anyway, we were all going to a gallery that night, because he'd been chosen to represent our school." She smiled and took his elbow again, tugging him through the crowds of people. "Everyone piled into Gatrie's van 'cause it was a 12-seater. Suspicious, sure, but it's good for carrying around his teammates and Shinon's art supplies and all of us when we're all headed to something. And it's easy as hell to pick out in the parking lot. I guess that's how they recognized us." Mia paused and caught the elbow of another girl passing by. Green-haired and wearing a black toque that was pulled down to cover her forehead. Leather boots with no heel clashed with the shorts and t-shirt she was wearing. Headphones hung around her neck. "Morning, Neph!"
The other girl smiled. "Mornin', Mia. How're you doin' today?"
Mia grinned. "Fantastic! Walking to school consisted of a kidnapping!" She paused briefly and considered. "I'm still struck by the fact that I was picked up like a sack of flour and thrown into the back of Ike's car. Am I really that light?"
"Who's Ike?"
"Hello." Ike smiled and held out his hand. "First day, to be honest. I've no idea where I'm going and Mia's been leading me blindly. Nice to meet you."
The green-haired girl flushed before taking his hand. "Nice to meetcha. 'M Nephenee. Where ya from?"
"Moved here from the middle of the country," Ike replied. "Dad's business needed him closer to work because he's been promoted. So we sold the house and now have a temporary apartment until we find a real house." He shrugged. "It's not so bad, really. There wasn't anything holding me down back there."
Nephenee nodded, still absently holding his hand. Mia chuckled.
"Don't mind her; she's just processing. Spaces out sometimes."
"Makes me a great mathm'tician." Nephenee let go of Ike's hand and looked the other way. "Don't mind me. I'm off to physics. Nice meetin' ya, Ike."
"You too." He smiled. "She seems nice. Shy, but nice."
"That' just the way she is. Once you see her around everyone else, you'll be amazed. If Boyd throws a party and she starts drinking it's hilarious. She gets all loud and rambunctious." Mia paused. "Now, if I'm right, first period is Math!"
"Hey." Ike caught her as she attempted to scurry off. "What about…what you were telling me earlier?"
"Drat. I was hoping the distraction was enough to make you forget." Gently she placed a hand on each of his shoulders. "I'll tell you later, okay? It won't do any good to walk into first period upset. People will wonder what you've done to me."
"Why—"
"Ike." Her green eyes were boring into his now, no longer gentle. An unspoken promise of pain. "I'm not afraid to hit a boy, and so help me goddess if you're afraid to hit me back. If you don't shut up about this until after school, or lunch, or sometime when we just happen to be alone, I'm going to beat some sense into you." Her look grew gentle again. "C'mon. Nealuchi'll have a fit."
He chose not to protest as she dragged him off.
A/N: So yeah. Hopefully this won't take three years to write (coughPathofRaunchinesscough).